How to Successfully Sell on eBay

My Husband Adam runs a side-business making money through eBay. He sells Lego star wars lightsabers and even creates his own custom lego minifigures, including The Walking Dead lego  and Lego Games of Thrones figures. He has been doing it for years and has in turn gained lots of in-depth knowledge about how to successfully use eBay to make a profit. There are many things that you can do on eBay to turn old items around your home or your own handmade crafts into cash - but what are the best kept secrets? I've asked Adam, who has used eBay to make a living and a business for himself for over three years now, for some of his top tips.. 

Get your image right 

If you're selling a new product and it's sealed eBay say that you are allowed to use a stock image from the Internet, these pictures are designed and taken to sell the items so they are worth using. If it is a used product, you will need to use your own photos of the product. Make sure that when you take your own photos they are well lit and clearly show all the details and any defects.

Describe everything

It's so important to describe everything about what it is that you are trying to sell. If it is new and sealed and a popular product, eBay will sometimes have stock descriptions of the product which you can use, this will give details about certain generic features of the product. If it is a used item, make sure you are completely honest with the condition otherwise this will just cause a headache for you further down the line, if the buyer contacts both you and eBay saying that the item you sent them was not as described.

Price it right

When searching for similar listings on ebay, there is a great option in the top right corner called 'Advanced' (it is next to the blue search button). When you click this, scroll down and check the option under 'Search including' called 'Sold listings' - this will tell you how much the same products have sold for previously. This should then give you a good idea about how much people are likely to be willing to pay for your item, then you should be able to work out the best price to list your own item at.

End your auctions at the right time

The busiest times for people purchasing items through eBay tends to be Sunday at 8pm or Monday at 8pm. Adam says he has tested other days and times, but that it is always Sunday or Monday at 8pm that get his items the highest bids and therefore the most money.

Offer different options for postage

Offering people different delivery options such as next day delivery or international shipping will widen your potential customers as not everyone will want or be able to pay the same sort of delivery charges and might prefer to rather wait a few extra days for their parcel. My Parcel Delivery allows you to compare the prices of top couriers when sending either economy, 2 day, next day or same day delivery both within the UK and internationally. They've negotiated substantial discounts with the couriers so that it works out cheaper than using Royal Mail for anyone sending parcels, be it as a business, for selling the odd item or even for sending things like birthday gifts and such. When it comes to sending larger items out it can be a bit of a pain, however there's a website called Shiply who can help with this, take a look at their website here: shiply.com.

If you're new to selling on eBay or if you were just after a few tips, both Adam and I hope that these tips will be of some use to you. :)